1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates in general to devices for promoting dental hygiene and in particular to an improved dental flossing device.
It is well accepted that the use of dental floss is important in maintaining good dental hygiene. Such use involves the insertion and removal of a thread of the dental floss between adjacent teeth so as to remove foreign substances lodged therein. However, the proper use of dental floss (in many cases, the total use of dental floss) is resisted by persons who dislike or who are unable to manipulate the dental floss with their fingers, especially in the innermost portions of the mouth where such flossing is particularly important.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
Many devices are known for making the use of dental floss easier. One representative device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,178 to Zellers. The Zellers dental floss applicator includes a hollow cylindrical body fitted with a pair of hollow arms which are oriented to form a yoke. A rotatable spindle of dental floss is mounted in an internal chamber of the body. The thread of dental floss is fed from the spindle through a first passageway in the body to one arm, across the open section of the yoke to the other arm, and through a second passageway in the body back to the internal chamber. The thread of dental floss is lastly fed through an exterior opening in the side of the body. The openings of the two passageways in the internal chamber, leading to and from the arms, are located on a tapered section of the interior chamber. The end of the spindle facing the tapered section is formed with a mating tapered projection which can be pressed against the dental floss threads leading in and out of the passageways when a threaded end cap, mounted at the other end of the spindle, is rotated to cause such engagement. Thus, the dental floss is locked in position for use. Loosening of the end cap permits the dental floss to be drawn off the spindle, through the two arms, and out the exit hole of the device.